


Once in a Blue Moon

by kimpotato



Category: NU'EST
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Full Moon, Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:48:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24389905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimpotato/pseuds/kimpotato
Summary: He found Jonghyun with his eyes closed, bathing in the moon's soft glow. Like he was an ethereal being that didn't belong with the rest of them.Like he belonged to the moon, and the moon alone.
Relationships: Hwang Minhyun & Kim Jonghyun | JR, Hwang Minhyun/Kim Jonghyun | JR
Comments: 10
Kudos: 32





	Once in a Blue Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Prepare tissue, just in case.

That Minhyun loved the moon was a given, but few knew that the blue moon was his favorite. 

His sister Sujin, because he had told her once when they were kids and she never forgot about it since then.

His best friend, Dongho, who had sat with him one cold autumn night while Minhyun was admiring the blue moon, and then naively commented that it wasn't even _blue_.

And Jonghyun, a schoolmate who had discovered him camped out on the rooftop of their school building, eagerly waiting for the extra full moon to rise.

"It will be spectacular," Jonghyun told him softly, as they stood side by side, strangers in every sense of the word, aside from their connection courtesy of Jonghyun's best friend, Choi Mingi.

Minhyun smiled, feeling warmth spread all over his chest at the discovery that here, finally, was another person who loved the blue moon as much as he did.

"It definitely will be."

And it was, thirty minutes later, when the blue moon finally graced them with its presence. It was nothing short of glorious, and Minhyun couldn't stop the tears from pricking his eyes.

Risking a quick glance at his unexpected companion, he found Jonghyun with his eyes closed, bathing in the moon's soft glow. Like he was an ethereal being that didn't belong with the rest of them. 

Like he belonged to the moon, and the moon alone.

***

“Jonghyunnie?” Mingi asked, eyebrows slightly raised. “Why are you suddenly asking about Jonghyunnie?”

Minhyun felt his ears heat up, unsure how to answer his classmate’s question. It did feel out of nowhere, him suddenly showing unabashed interest on Mingi’s best friend, when they’ve only ever spoken once or twice before, minus the surprise rendezvous on the rooftop.

Minhyun considered throwing a little white lie, except that he was a horrible liar (as Dongho had told him on multiple occasions). Plus, he figured there was always the possibility that Jonghyun already told Mingi about how he had found Minhyun on the rooftop the previous evening.

“I . . . we watched the blue moon together last night,” he explained, watching as Mingi’s eyebrows raised further up his forehead.

“You caught Jonghyunnie at a time like that?” Mingi asked incredulously. “How fortunate.”

Minhyun furrowed his brow in confusion. “What do you mean?”

His classmate of two years studied him with eyes that seemed to pierce right through his soul. Just when Minhyun thought Mingi would actually answer his question, the younger man shook his head and offered him a sad little smile instead. 

Mingi ended their conversation by closing his book, standing from his seat, and murmuring, “I wouldn’t get too attached if I were you.” That soft, sad smile again. “For your sake more than his.”

***

The next time Minhyun saw Jonghyun, the quiet sophomore was sitting all alone inside an empty classroom, on the highest floor in their school building. He had his back against the door, eyes focused on the full moon out in the night sky.

It was a normal full moon, not as extraordinary as a blue moon, but still wonderful in Minhyun’s eyes.

“Jonghyun-ssi?” he called out, even as Mingi’s warning rang in his ears.

_I wouldn’t get too attached if I were you._

It took Jonghyun about five seconds to turn around, as if he were still slowly coming out of a trance.

“Minhyun-ssi,” he greeted back, a secret hidden at the corner of his lips. 

“What are you doing here?” Minhyun asked, surveying the empty classroom before he walked inside. “Mingi-ssi is not with you?”

Jonghyun smiled warmly and shook his head. “Mingie knows I need time to be alone right now.”

“Oh.” Embarrassed, Minhyun started heading back to the door. “Sorry to disturb you then.”

“I don’t mind if you stayed,” Jonghyun responded, before turning back to watch the moon again. “You just might hear it, too.”

“Hear what?”

“Listen.”

Jonghyun motioned for him to draw closer, and both students stood in front of the windows, eyes fixed on the heavenly body shining down on them.

Minhyun wasn’t sure what he was supposed to listen to. All he could hear were the wind gently blowing through the window, the quiet chatter of students loitering on the school grounds, and the occasional horn from the main road, several blocks away.

“Listen to what?” he whispered, as if they were both standing on sacred ground, and that speaking loudly meant committing a mortal sin.

Jonghyun turned to him, and Minhyun found moonlight reflected in his eyes.

“The moon sings. Listen.”

Minhyun frowned, unsure if Jonghyun was speaking metaphorically, or if he was literally hearing the moon sing right now.

But how could the moon even do that?

“I don’t hear anything,” he admitted, after trying, and failing, to listen for a few more minutes.

Jonghyun looked slightly disappointed, as if he had heard the same words many times before. Minhyun wished he could take it back—tell Jonghyun that, yes, he could hear the moon sing, even when he really couldn’t.

But he was never that good of a liar, and he suspected that Jonghyun would know if he was faking it anyway.

“That’s all right,” Jonghyun replied, smiling gently in understanding. “Maybe you will, someday.”

***

Minhyun saw Jonghyun several more times after that, but only ever at night, and only during a full moon. Sometimes he found him on the rooftop, smiling softly as moonlight bathed him in its glow. Sometimes he saw him in the middle of the school quad, lying on a picnic mat, eyes closed. He would always be wearing a smile, and a secret would always be hidden at the corner of his lips.

Minhyun grew to look forward to the full moon every month, not just because he loved watching it, but also because he loved watching Jonghyun lose himself in the moonlight.

“I see you didn’t heed my warning,” Mingi sighed, suddenly appearing next to him one night, as he was on his way to join Jonghyun for their monthly moon-gazing.

Minhyun stared guiltily at his classmate, but curiosity made him bold, too. 

“What did you mean by it anyway?”

Mingi smiled softly and nodded to where Jonghyun was sitting, right in the middle of the quad.

“Don’t you see?” he asked, fear and sadness lacing his voice. “He’s already fading.”

Minhyun frowned and turned to observe Jonghyun again. “What, is he sick or something?”

Mingi answered him with a snort and shook his head. “You should really learn to use your senses well, Minhyun-ssi,” he berated him, but not unkindly. 

Minhyun furrowed his brow, trying his best to look, really look, at Jonghyun.

And then he saw it.

“He’s . . .” he stammered, unsure how to describe what he was seeing.

Mingi nodded beside him, heaving a deep sigh. “He wasn’t that translucent before, was he?”

And it was true. Minhyun never really paid too much attention to it before, but it did seem like a moonbeam was passing through Jonghyun’s body, instead of bouncing off of him.

“What’s going on?” he asked, fear gripping his heart.

Mingi remained silent for a long, long time. Just when Minhyun thought he’d never answer, Mingi finally whispered back a reply.

“The moon is calling him home.”

***

_The moon is calling him home._

“The hell does that even mean?!” Minhyun blurted out loud, banging his head against his desk, completely forgetting that he wasn’t alone in his room.

“Try the wall,” Dongho answered from his bed. “It’s harder.”

Minhyun turned and gave his best friend the most miserable look he could muster. “You’re not helping.”

Dongho rolled his eyes and flipped another page of the magazine he was reading. “I have zero idea what you’re talking about so nope, of course I’m not helping.”

Minhyun sighed as he crawled toward his own bed and buried his face in a pillow. Minutes of blissful silence passed before he turned and faced Dongho again.

“Dongho-ya,” he murmured. “What do you do when you find out that something precious will be taken away from you soon?”

Dongho stared back, like he was gauging if Minhyun was merely pulling his leg. Deeming that he was, in fact, asking something serious, Dongho closed the magazine and answered in the most honest way he could.

“I’ll make sure I don’t have any regrets.”

***

One month later, Minhyun found himself on the school rooftop again, not out of his own accord. Mingi had contacted him the day before, telling him to show up tonight, while there was still time. Minhyun felt tears prick his eyes at the tone of Mingi’s voice, as if he were already mourning for something that has not yet been lost.

On top of the rooftop stood Jonghyun, Mingi, and a senior uni student by the name of Kwak Aron. The older man was putting on a brave face, but Minhyun could see tears rolling down his cheeks, even from his position in the doorway.

“Promise me you’ll always take care of Mingi-ya, Hyung,” Jonghyun coaxed him, that same kind smile firmly in place. Beside them Mingi huffed, muttering something about how he’s no longer a child that needed doting on.

Aron nodded, before pulling Jonghyun into a tight hug, sobbing quietly in his shoulder. Jonghyun patted his back gently, trying his best to console him for a reason Minhyun still could not fully understand, but was starting to get a hint of.

“Ah, you came,” Mingi suddenly called out, even as Minhyun found himself gravitating into the little group.

“What’s going on?”

Jonghyun smiled at him and reached out his hand. Moonlight filtered through it, and it was only then that Minhyun noticed that he was barely visible anymore.

“Jonghyun-ssi? What’s happening?”

Jonghyun gripped his hand and squeezed it tightly. “I’m going home, Minhyun-ssi.” He nodded toward the moon, eyes reflecting its soft glow. “Will you try to listen to its song every now and then? I know you’ll hear it if you listen hard enough.”

Minhyun found tears flowing down his cheeks, even when his mind couldn’t fully comprehend what was going on. He offered a small nod, wondering why his chest suddenly felt so empty and cold.

Jonghyun beamed and let go of his hand. Turning to his best friend, he gave him the warmest smile Minhyun had ever seen him make.

“I don’t accept this, J-Rie,” Mingi told him.

Jonghyun nodded in understanding. “Thank you for your friendship, Rennie. You made my stay here more meaningful than I could’ve ever hoped for.” They hugged, Mingi sobbing loudly, as Aron quietly wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Don’t be sad,” Jonghyun told them as he stepped back from their little group. Already he was starting to fade from view. “I’ve been away from home for so long, but you, all of you, have given me a new home here.” He gave them one final smile. “I will never forget any of you.”

Minhyun blinked, and Jonghyun was gone.

And it was as if something was stolen from his heart as well.

***

“I knew you’d be here,” Mingi greeted him, one month after Jonghyun had mysteriously, and quite literally, disappeared before their eyes.

They were both on the rooftop again, admiring the full moon in all its beauty.

“So he really lives there?” Minhyun asked the question that had been haunting him for a month.

Mingi sighed and gazed up toward the bright disc in the sky. “I found him here more than a year ago, at the exact same spot,” he recalled. “Looking lost, asking where he was.” He shrugged. “I didn’t believe him at first, you know. A man from the moon. How stupid does that sound?”

Minhyun looked up the moon and squinted his eyes, wondering if he could spot Jonghyun there if he tried looking hard enough.

They stood in silence for a few more minutes, before Mingi gasped and reached out to grip his arm.

“Do you hear it?”

Minhyun felt his chest tighten as he focused on the soft, faint hum flowing down from a moonbeam.

“He’s singing,” he whispered.

Mingi sobbed and gripped his arm tighter. “He is.”

Minhyun felt the first tear fall as he and Mingi started laughing together, loudly, with no reservations. He felt something heavy lift from his chest as he hiccuped from too much laughter and tears.

“He’s really there,” he cried, but not unhappily. “The man on the moon is really home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to A, for the beta and the tears. Go drink that Coke.


End file.
